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Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Memory
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7.2 Remembering is thought to involve at least three steps. Incoming information is
first held for a second or two by sensory memory. Information selected by attention is then
transferred to temporary storage in short-term memory. If new information is not rapidly
encoded, or rehearsed, it is forgotten. If it is transferred to long-term memory, it becomes
relatively permanent, although retrieving it may be a problem. The preceding is a useful model
of memory; it may not be literally true of what happens in the brain
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
Sensory Memory
• Storing an exact copy of incoming information for a few
seconds; the first stage of memory
– Icon: A fleeting mental image or visual representation
– Echo: After a sound is heard, a brief continuation of
the sound in the auditory system
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
Figure 7.7
George Sperling (1960) flashed arrays like this on a screen for 50 milliseconds.
After the display went off, a signal told the viewer which row to recite.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
Story Telling
• Is memory reproductive (like a tape-
recorder) or reconstructive (an active
compiling of details into a coherent
memory)?
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
1. Sofa
2. Sleep
3. Lamp
4. Kitchen
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7.4 A hypothetical network of facts about animals shows what is meant by the
structure of memory. Small networks of ideas such as this are probably organized into larger
and larger units and higher levels of meaning.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7.6 In the model shown here, long-term memory is divided into procedural memory
(learned actions and skills) and declarative memory (stored facts). Declarative memories can be
either semantic (impersonal knowledge) or episodic (personal experiences associated with
specific times and places).
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
Forgetting
• Nonsense Syllables: Meaningless three-letter words
(FEI, QUF) that test learning and forgetting
• Herman Ebbinghaus
FIGURE 7.10 The curve of forgetting. This graph shows the amount remembered (measured by
relearning) after varying lengths of time. Notice how rapidly forgetting occurs. The material
learned was nonsense syllables. Forgetting curves for meaningful information also show early
losses followed by a long gradual decline, but overall, forgetting occurs much more slowly.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Figure 7.11 Chapter 7
FIGURE 7.11 Some of the distractor items used in a study of recognition memory and encoding
failure.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
Forgetting
• Encoding Failure: When a memory was never formed in
the first place
FIGURE 7.12 The effect of mood on memory. Subjects best remembered a list of words when
their mood during testing was the same as their mood was when they learned the list.
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7.15 Retroactive and proactive interference. The order of learning and testing shows
whether interference is retroactive (backward) or proactive (forward).
Psychology: A Journey, Second Edition, Dennis Coon
Chapter 7